Mayor Karen Bass said the President of the United States suggested that a foreign government attack Los Angeles, calling the remarks dangerous and a potential threat to the city's safety. The comments stem from a campaign rally Monday in Nebraska, where President Donald Trump told supporters that rising gas prices were a “small price to pay” for war with Iran, adding, “Let them take out Los Angeles, let them take out San Diego.”
Trump made the remarks at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center in Grand Island, Nebraska, according to the Los Angeles Times, speaking at a Republican campaign event ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Bass responded on X, writing that the president's statements against Los Angeles are dangerous and could potentially compromise the city's safety, and that a president's role is to protect the country rather than actively threaten it or encourage attacks on American lives, according to a post from Mayor Karen Bass
. She added that Angelenos know how to stand together and protect Los Angeles.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria issued his own rebuke the same day, posting on X that San Diego is “not collateral damage,” “not expendable,” and “never a 'small price to pay.'” San Diego was named directly alongside Los Angeles in the rally remarks, and the city carries particular stakes in the conflict given its role as a major naval hub.
California's Governor and Senator Join the Pushback
California Governor Gavin Newsom also condemned the president on X, calling him “deranged and dangerous” and arguing that Trump was inviting foreign enemies to target California cities, as reported by Forbes. Newsom tied the remarks to the federal government's earlier deployment of military troops to the state.
U.S. Senator Alex Padilla released a statement on X noting that at least 19 U.S. service members had died in the conflict with Iran, condemning the president for inciting cheer for attacks on American soil, the same Forbes report notes.
San Diego's Naval Ties and LA's Iranian Diaspora
San Diego hosts major U.S. naval installations, including the homeport for nuclear aircraft carriers like the USS Abraham Lincoln, which remained on an extended deployment as the USS George Washington was en route to relieve it, according to KPBS. That history gives the rally remarks added weight locally, since the city's naval assets have been directly tied to the war effort Trump referenced.
Los Angeles carries its own stakes in any rhetoric involving Iran. Southern California is home to the largest concentration of Iranian diaspora residents outside of Iran, with local estimates putting the regional population at up to 700,000 and major cultural hubs in West Los Angeles neighborhoods, per UCLA Newsroom. Much of that community traces its roots in the city to the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Echoes of the 2025 Troop Deployment Fight
Monday's remarks landed against the backdrop of a bitter earlier clash between Los Angeles and the federal government. In June 2025, Trump deployed 700 active-duty Marines and National Guard personnel to Los Angeles during local immigration protests, claiming the city was being invaded by a “foreign enemy,” a move a federal judge later declared unlawful in September 2025. Hoodline previously reported on that illegal deployment ruling. Newsom also referred to the earlier deployment in his response to the new rhetoric.
Rhetoric Versus Real Military Capability
Despite the alarm the comments generated among local officials, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Associated Press said Iran has a self-imposed limit of 1,240 miles on its ballistic missile program. Whether Trump's remarks were intended as hyperbole about foreign threats or as a political jab aimed at Democratic-led California cities remains an open question, one local officials are likely to keep raising as the midterm and mayoral campaigns continue.
